For today's Constant Calligrapher, I want to show you a practice address and discuss what I need to do to get my script images up to speed. I have a really nice Canon EOS that I do not know how to use. I took a photography class in college but unfortunately have since forgotten most of what to do to take great pictures. Because I do remember the fundamental concepts, I don't suppose it would take too long to catch back up. I just need to do some reading, watch a little YouTube and then I can practice applying what I re-learn. When I published the post about the Morgan script, I mentioned that I needed to make better images of my scripts for the website. The only way to do this is to take advantage of my camera's capabilities. I set up a makeshift light booth with white foam board and an LED light and took the image below.

I could probably do much more as far as the light booth goes, but you can see how dark the picture is even though my booth was flooded with light. Clearly some adjustments need to be made to the settings of the camera..... shutter speed, aperture, exposure.... I remember those terms from my class, but not sure which does what. I think in this case shutter speed would allow more light to enter the lens, thereby brightening up the image, but I don't know for sure.

Now you may be thinking that it's silly to worry about this with all the editing software available, and I'll be the first to admit that I am obsessed with Picasa; But I don't want my calligraphy images over edited. Below is the same image after adjusting it in Picasa.

Looks great, doesn't it? Nice and bright, nice and clear. But it also looks like it was generated on a computer.... you can't see the texture of the paper, or texture of the ink. It is very much over-edited. This is not how I want to represent my work. I want people who visit my website to see an image of calligraphy the same way they would see it if they were holding it in their hand. At least as much as possible. I have seen examples of this on other calligraphy websites.... you know, calligraphers that know how to operate their camera or pay to have professional shots made. So this is a current project of mine. Upgrade all script images to those that more accurately represent the work. The first image of the address I have above will serve as the baseline. I will then begin adjusting my camera's settings accordingly.... as soon as I learn how. I'll post some updates as I go through the process. Once I find the sweet spot, I will then photograph all my scripts using a standardized set of camera specs as well as standardizing the sample's size, distance and angle from the lens, etc.